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| Dr. David Marlett, Editor | March 22, 2002 | Vol. III - No. 5 | ||
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| Dr. David Marlett, Editor | March 22, 2002 | Vol. III - No. 5 | ||
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[ YOU can send an email urging President Bush to veto this bill by going to: http://www.conservativehq.com/032102.htm ]
Letter to President George W. Bush
By American Conservative Union
[ CNSNews.com Information Services, March 21, 2002 ]
(Editor's note: What follows is the text of a letter to President George W. Bush from American conservatives, who want the president to veto new campaign finance restrictions passed by Congress. The Senate gave final approval to the bill on Wednesday.)
President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington D.C. 20500
March 20, 2002
Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the nearly one million members and supporters of the American Conservative Union, and the millions more represented by those groups who have co-signed this letter, we are writing to urge you to veto the ill-conceived and unconstitutional Campaign Finance "Reform" bill, passed by the House last month, and the U.S. Senate this afternoon.
As we have said all along, this is not about politics, but about principle.
It is a travesty that so many Members of Congress-on both sides of the aisle- seem to have either forgotten about or chose to intentionally ignore their oaths to "support and defend the Constitution" when they cast their votes on this legislation. It is, frankly, sad that such an affront to freedom has actually made it to the desk of the President of the United States.
Much of the debate over this legislation focused on which party will be helped or hurt by its various provisions, with very few commentators addressing the core questions of whether or not the sorts of restrictions on political speech envisioned by the bill's authors are either wise or Constitutional.
We don't know which party will ultimately benefit or be hurt by this legislation and what's more, we don't care. The bill making its way to your desk completely redefines political speech and outlaws or criminalizes speech that every American has always believed to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Looked at from our perspective, you are being asked to sign a bill that tells those who might want to criticize the actions of politicians to just shut up.
We understand fully the reasons why you have taken the position up to now that Congress could not count on a Presidential veto on this legislation and must therefore work to fashion something that is fair, effective and, yes, Constitutional. Well, Congress had its chance ... and failed.
So now it's up to you!
You can pass the buck to the courts and hope that they will straighten out this mess. Or, you can veto it for what it is.... A bad bill that criminalizes political speech and deserves to be sent back from whence it came.
If there was ever a time to use the veto pen this is it. We urge you to veto this legislation.
If you can honestly say that you believe legislated restrictions on political speech is at the core of what our Founders wanted, by all means, sign the bill. But if you believe the proposed restrictions won't pass muster by a Supreme Court that actually believes in free speech, please, do everyone a favor by vetoing it.
Yours Sincerely,
David A. Keene, Chairman, American Conservative Union
Paul Beckner, Citizens for a Sound Economy
Thomas P. Kilgannon, Freedom Alliance
Ward Connerly, American Civil Rights Institute
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Ken Connor, Family Research Council
L. Brent Bozell, Conservative Victory Committee
Morton Blackwell, Conservative Leadership PAC
Eric M. Licht, President, Coalitions for America
William Mellor, General Counsel, Institute for Justice
J.P. Backlin, Legislative Director, Christian Coalition
Craig Shirley, Craig Shirley & Associates
Mark R. Levin, Landmark Legal Foundation
Gary Aldrich, CNP Action, Inc
Kellyanne Conway, The Polling Company / Woman Trend
Alan M. Gottlieb, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Charles W. Jarvis, United Seniors Association
Lewis K. Uhler, National Tax Limitation Committee
Bruce W. Eberle, Eberle Communications Group
Jim Martin, 60 Plus Association
Andrea Lafferty, Traditional Values Coalition
Tom Phillips, President, Phillips PAC
Cleta Mitchell, Attorney, Washington D.C.
John Berthoud, National Taxpayers Union
David Keating, Club for Growth Advocacy
Jeff Hollingsworth, The National Conservative Campaign Fund
Fred L. Smith Jr., President, Competitive Enterprise Institute
James C. Roberts, American Studies Center
Richard A. Viguerie, ConservativeHQ.com
Richard Norman, The Richard Norman Company
David M. Bossie, Citizens United
Audrey Mullen, Patriot PAC
Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness
Chuck Muth, Republican Liberty Caucus
Robert Funk, American Shareholders Association
Bob Johnson, Chairman, Free Republic Network
Amy Ridenour, The National Center for Public Policy Research(a)
Allen Roth, New York State Conservative Party
Young Conservatives of Texas, David B. Kopel
Marc Levin, Columnist, National Review Online(a)
Austin Ruse, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute(a)
Shaun Marie Levine, Executive Director, Conservative Party of New York
Edwin Moore, James Madison Institute(a)
Steve Baldwin, CNP Action, Inc.
Jennifer Holder, NoInternetTax.org
Larry Pratt, Gun Owners of America
D. Eric Schippers, Center for Individual Freedom
David Almasi, Director of Project 21(a)
Charles W. Baird, Director, The Smith Center
Joan L. Hueter, American Council for Immigration Reform
Star Parker, Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education
Jake Haulk, Allegheny Institute for Public Policy(a)
James Parmelee, Republicans United for Tax Relief
John Taylor, Virginia Institute of Public Policy(a)
Brandon Dutcher, Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs(a)
Gary Jarmin, Christian Voice
Farha Ahmed, Muslim American Republican Caucus
Greg Kaza, Arkansas Policy Foundation(a)
Larry Cirigano, CatholicVote.org
Richard Falknor, Maryland Taxpayers Association
Gerry Dickinson, South Carolina Policy Council Education
Foundation(a)
Darrell McKigney, Small Business Survival Committee
R. N. Dwight Patel, Director, Association of Concerned Taxpayers
Julie Versnel, American Political Action Committee
(Note a: Organization listed for identification purposes only.)
| Akaka (D-HI) | Durbin (D-IL) | Lugar (R-IN) |
| Baucus (D-MT) | Edwards (D-NC) | McCain (R-AZ) |
| Bayh (D-IN) | Feingold (D-WI) | Mikulski (D-MD) |
| Biden (D-DE) | Feinstein (D-CA) | Miller (D-GA) |
| Bingaman (D-NM) | Fitzgerald (R-IL) | Murray (D-WA) |
| Boxer (D-CA) | Frist (R-TN) | Nelson (D-FL) |
| Breaux (D-LA) | Graham (D-FL) | Nelson (D-NE) |
| Byrd (D-WV) | Grassley (R-IA) | Reed (D-RI) |
| Cantwell (D-WA) | Hagel (R-NE) | Reid (D-NV) |
| Carnahan (D-MO) | Harkin (D-IA) | Rockefeller (D-WV) |
| Carper (D-DE) | Hollings (D-SC) | Sarbanes (D-MD) |
| Chafee (R-RI) | Inouye (D-HI) | Schumer (D-NY) |
| Cleland (D-GA) | Jeffords (I-VT) | Smith (R-OR) |
| Clinton (D-NY) | Johnson (D-SD) | Snowe (R-ME) |
| Cochran (R-MS) | Kennedy (D-MA) | Specter (R-PA) |
| Collins (R-ME) | Kerry (D-MA) | Stabenow (D-MI) |
| Conrad (D-ND) | Kohl (D-WI) | Stevens (R-AK) |
| Corzine (D-NJ) | Kyl (R-AZ) | Thompson (R-TN) |
| Daschle (D-SD) | Landrieu (D-LA) | Torricelli (D-NJ) |
| Dayton (D-MN) | Leahy (D-VT) | Warner (R-VA) |
| Dodd (D-CT) | Levin (D-MI) | Wellstone (D-MN) |
| Domenici (R-NM) | Lieberman (D-CT) | Wyden (D-OR) |
| Dorgan (D-ND) | Lincoln (D-AR) |
It may make it illegal to talk about them during the last days of the campaign, but we still have the right to vote them out of office.
*** Letter suggested by Gun Owners of America ***
Dear Senator:
You took an oath to uphold the Constitution. But as far as I am concerned, you violated that oath when you cast your vote to help pass the Incumbent Protection Bill.
Your vote to invoke cloture-and thus, to end the filibuster on March 20-was the watershed vote in the fight to stop a so-called campaign finance bill that is so very unconstitutional.
The Shays-Meehan bill contains provisions that would hinder advocacy groups from running television and radio campaign ads in the final month of a primary campaign and during the final 60 days before a general election.
That is a restriction upon the First Amendment right of free speech. All citizens, and the groups that represent those citizens, should have to the right to freely criticize their elected officials. History shows that only tyrants try to squelch the people's ability to criticize government leaders.
I am very disappointed by your vote, and you can be sure that I will tell others about how you have voted.
Sincerely,
Chuck Baldwin's Friday commentary enumerates several signs that indicate the current administration's contempt for honesty and openness.
1) The Bush administration invoked executive privilege to keep Clinton-era documents secret.
2) Bush flatly refuses to hand over records of internal energy task force meetings.
3) The United States Government's top lawyer told the U.S. Supreme Court that officials have the right to lie to American citizens.
4) The White House ordered all federal agencies to delete their web sites of all "sensitive information."
5) Vice President Cheney is the stealthiest Vice President in U.S. history.
6) President Bush admitted that he has formed a mysterious "shadow government" comprised of unknown persons.
When asked by a reporter about these and other matters, Bush said, "I have a duty to protect the executive branch from legislative encroachment."
Does any of this fall in line with the US Constitution? Is any of this honest? Does any of this comply with the oath of office that President Bush swore? Does any of this say anything about President Bush's "Christian testimony"?
See Chuck Baldwin's full article at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com
Congressman Weldon Unveils New Legislation Aimed At Protecting Americans from Terror TAP Act Calls For Moratorium on Visas Issued to Aliens from Terrorist Countries Washington, DC - In a news conference today on Capitol Hill, Congressman Dave Weldon, M.D., introduced H.R. 4010, the Terrorist Admission Prevention Act (TAP Act). TAP Act would provide a temporary moratorium on the issuance of alien immigrant and non-immigrant visas from 15 countries that harbor terrorists. This moratorium will last until the border-securing tools provided in the USA PATRIOT Act are fully implemented. "Our current border and immigration security systems are incapable of protecting American citizens against another terrorist attack. The recent account of the INS notifying a Florida flight school of the change in Mohamed Atta's Visa status -- six months after the September 11 terrorist attack -- is a case in point," said Congressman Weldon. "Congress has already acted to shore up and initiate many needed reforms to protect our borders and eliminate additional terrorist threats. These systems, however, could take years to implement allowing sufficient time for future terrorists to slip through."
In 1999, the INS reports that 205,000 non-immigrants were admitted from terrorist harboring countries to the United States and earlier this year, the Census Bureau reported that 114,000 Middle Easterners were living in the United States illegally. According to a March 5th CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll almost 60% of Americans favor reducing the number of admissions into the United States of immigrants from Muslim Countries.
The Terrorist Admission Prevention Act will give the INS useful tools to apprehend terrorists and to keep track of aliens. It will also deny the extension of amnesty to illegal aliens from the 15 terrorist-harboring countries named in the Act. The TAP Act provides exception authority to the Attorney General for 100 aliens per country per year at his discretion.
"We also need to be more diligent in tracking aliens who are here legally. Since the INS is unable to catch a notorious name like Mohamed Attah, one can only imagine the state of affairs in keeping track of the 11 million legal aliens within our borders. The TAP Act is intended to assist the Department of Justice and the Immigration and Naturalization Service by immediately removing the source of the United States' most imminent threat - the admission of terrorists through the immigration system. This Act gives precious time for these borders securing agencies that are fighting a multi-faceted battle against an unknown enemy," concluded Congressman Weldon.
The fifteen countries identified in the TAP Act are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Seven of the countries are designated by the Department of State as sponsors of terrorism -- Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. The eight additional countries are known to be countries where foreign terrorist organizations operate and have bases of operation -- Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
[ Judicial Watch ]
*** Engineer Asked To Sign-off On Improper Transfers Of High Technology While Working at Defense Threat Reduction Agency
*** United Arab Emirates, Russia, & Others Gained Satellite and Advanced Ballistic Missile Design Information
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it is representing Carlet Auguste, an aerospace engineer and former employee of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency ("DTRA"), in his effort to seek redress for retaliatory actions taken against him when he engaged in whistle blowing activity over sensitive national security technology transfers.
Mr. Auguste, who has a BS degree from the School of Engineering of the Ohio State University and a MS degree in Aerospace Engineering from the George Washington University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, began working for the DTRA in April 2000 as a GS-14. Mr. Auguste was tasked with conducting export control reviews of technical information for satellite projects. Mr. Auguste was alarmed by the quantity and array of testing data on mechanical, electrical and software technology that was being regularly approved for transfer to foreign governments. The data also included detailed drawings of rocket components. It was Mr. Auguste's opinion that the information transferred could be invaluable to engineers trying to develop ballistic missiles.
Mr. Auguste was told by his superiors that although he was an engineer, he had to put aside his technical concerns, and take "political and economic" factors into consideration in his evaluations. He was told to consider the economic effects of decisions on the various companies DTRA monitored. When Mr. Auguste balked at approving export licenses for technology that he evaluated as classified – and the transfer of which would harm national security, he was fired in October 2000.
Judicial Watch represents Mr. Auguste in his "whistle blower" claims before the Merit Systems Protection Board.
"Carlet Auguste was fired by the Clinton-Gore Administration because he would not approve export licenses for the transfer of sensitive technology to foreign powers. Mr. Auguste should have been hailed as a guardian of our national security, but instead he was removed as an obstacle to the last administration's subverting of our national defense for campaign contributions," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
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